My Name is Day
by flyingwargle
Summary: Pre-Legend three-shot. It's been three years since Daniel Altan Wing had escaped from the "labor camps" and forged a life for himself in the streets with his companion Tess. This is a story of how he reunites with John again and becomes the person everyone knows and loves as Day.
1. Family

I don't sleep so well at night, waking up and shivering from the remnants of my dreams, broken fragments of past memories: the morning of my Trial, the physical exam, the written, the interview, the faces of the other kids while we waited for our results. I remember two admins dragging me to another truck with a bunch of other kids in it. We were taken to a facility to be cut up and left to die in a basement of corpses. Only I didn't. I survived. But the Republic doesn't know that.

I stare at the thin ceiling over my head. I lay on the hard wooden floor, arms folded behind my hand, legs stretched out. Across the room from me is Tess, the little orphan girl I found while I was out looking for lunch. She stuck around. Now she's here. She's got her uses- her innocent look sometimes score us free leftovers. Most times she's good at chatting up vendors, distracting them so they wouldn't even feel it when I pick their pocket. Our teamwork's been improving since she stayed with me. Feeding two people isn't that hard and it's nice to have company sometimes. Especially since I can't go back to my family.

My family. That's the only reason why I came back to Lake. The building we're staying in is right outside the neighborhood I used to live in, the broken window facing the direction of my family's house. I can watch them from a distance and they wouldn't even know I'm in the area. I roll to my side and pull myself up, glancing out to see what they're up to.

A candle shines brightly in the windowsill. I know it's John, waiting for me to come home from my Trial. He'd been doing that for the last three years. He used to sit by the front door and wait but the cold air drives him back inside and now he does it from his room with a candle lit. I can almost imagine what goes on inside- John, sitting on his bed, eyes pointed to the door. Eden, curled beside him to try to get as warm as he can by sleeping close to him. Mom, quietly looking at John and contemplating whether or not to tell him to go to bed. She'd know he wouldn't listen. She'd go to bed herself and wish I'd walk in through the door.

I want to. I want to, so badly, but I can't. If the Republic knows I'm still alive, they'd come after me and my family and do whatever it was they did to stop the secret from leaking. It was goddy stupid, how they'd flaunt their strength and riches by doing stuff like terrorizing impoverished neighborhoods like Lake. That's what the rich do, though. They hide behind their fake smiles and medals and honor.

Tess stirs out of the corner of my eye. She lifts her head and blinks at me. She's a little nearsighted but she sees me clearly at this distance. She yawns. "Morning."

"Morning." She never calls me by name. She just calls me whatever is convenient- _hey_ , _you, hey you,_ anything that'd catch my attention. I never told her it because I don't know whether or not I should let her know my real name. Daniel. Daniel Altan Wing. I don't feel like a Daniel. I don't know what I am anymore.

Tess starts shivering from the cold. Winters in Lake are always harsh and the thin walls of these buildings are nothing compared to the thick ones in the wealthier sectors. I sit down beside her and let her take comfort in some of my body heat. We stay like that for a while, huddled together, until I say we should get some breakfast. She agrees and we stand up. I let her wear my jacket.

Not a lot of people venture out of their homes during winter so the streets and alleyways are empty, quiet. It also means the vendors are less likely to stand in the cold and freeze their toes off so there isn't many of them to steal from. Food scraps left overnight are cold and hard to eat. Getting something hot is pretty tough to accomplish but we do what we can.

We don't find much for breakfast so we walk around to try to find someone to steal from. I used to like winter because it was actually _nice_ , back when I had a house and family but now, it reminds me of a lot of painful memories. Then there was my leg to complain about- it always got stiff when the weather took a turn for worse and it made it hard for me to get around fast. Tess usually knows when I needed to stop and usually did when I didn't want to. I'm not weak. I can handle it.

In the end, we couldn't salvage much and had to resort to some of our food rations. We eat in the evening and Tess starts dozing afterwards. I turn to my own private stash of items I managed to loot over the months and gather them up, hiding them in a moth-eaten jacket I found at the bottom of a trash bin. They were all items for my family- thin wool gloves for Mom, some broken pens and electrical wires for Eden- he was always making something with the junk lying around on the street so hopefully he could use these for his work- and for John, I found him a scarf that was torn in half but sewn together in exchange for five Notes. Tess asked me if I was going to wear it and I said no. She never asked me again. I take a bundle of Notes from our stash and use the scarf to wrap around them. Then I fold them into the jacket and tie the sleeves together.

I shake Tess awake. "Tess. Tess, wake up." She snaps awake, blinking blearily at me. "Listen, I need you to do something for me."

"What…?" she yawns, blinking again when I shove the bundle of gifts in her arms. She looks at it. "What's this for?"

"I need you to drop them off at a house. Here, look." I stand and limp to the window. She crawls after me and squints to see which house I was pointing at. "That house. Drop it off at the door and run. Run to the end of the block and turn the corner. Then come back here. Okay?"

"Why?" she asks.

"Just do it. For me." _Please_ , I want to add, but don't. I mean, yeah, sending a girl into the cold after walking around in it all day was cruel but this is important. Really important.

She's silent for a moment longer and then nods. I put my hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, cousin." I gently nudge her in the right direction. She disappears outside and I lose track of her for a second because of how dark it is. Then I find her.

She's soundless, running over the frozen ground with the bundle in her arms. She stops in front of my family's house, double-checking it was it, and then steps forward to drop off the bundle at the door. She pauses again, and knocks on it. Then she runs off, running faster than I could at the moment. I forget all about her when the door opens and my mom steps out. I feel my breath catching in my throat.

My mom looks thin, thinner than I last saw her, which was only last month. She swings her head around and looks down, noticing the bundle. She kneels down and unties it. I see her face lighting up in delight and she turns to call my brothers out. I catch a glimpse of Eden but it's brief and John shoves him back inside so he wouldn't get cold. I feel my heart lurching at the sight of my brother. It's been so long since I saw anything remotely close to happiness on their faces. Mom sweeps up the bundle and closes the door. After a while, it looks like nothing happened at all.

Tess comes back to me breathless and shivering. She pulls my jacket closer around her and I pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her. "Thank you," I murmur. "Thank you."

"Who were they?" she asks quietly. I don't let go of her.

"My family."

"Why can't you go back to them? Did they throw you out?"

"No." My voice falters for a moment. I clear my throat. "They didn't. It's…complicated. Some stuff happened and I had to go away. I can't go back there. Not yet. Anyway, thanks, cousin. For doing that."

She hugs me back. "No problem."

Minutes later, she starts dozing again. I look out the window and see the candle in my family's window. John is still waiting for me. I'm waiting too, waiting for the right time to go to him and let him know I'm still alive. But that time isn't now. Not yet.

For now, this will do.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This is my first time attempting fanfic and I hope I did Day justice in his point of view. I was inspired for this by _Cha-Ching_ by Imagine Dragons so you might find some lines of the song in the story. Thanks for reading and let me know how what you think!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own _Legend_. Everything belongs to Marie Lu and her brilliance.


	2. Reunion

I awake with a start from the dream I don't remember having. The movement sends a jolt of pain through my head, pulsing against my temples. I squeeze my eyes shut again and press my hands firmly against my head, hoping it'd stop the pain. I stay like that until the pain subsides a bit and open my eyes again. Someone leans over to me, their face blurry to me. I blink and wait for my vision to clear. Tess.

"Finally awake, yeah?" she says nervously. "You were out since you came back yesterday. I think you got a concussion. There's a nasty bruise on your forehead."

Carefully, I move my arm to touch it, brushing hair out of the way to drag it across my skin. Sure enough, I feel a big lump on the right side of my head. I don't remember what happened yesterday that could've caused it.

"You told me you were going to Arcadia to do something. Then you came back half-conscious and all beaten up. What did you do there?"

That jogged my memory a bit. The details are still fuzzy…I know they'd come to me eventually. Hoarsely, I answer, "Nothing."

" _Nothing_?" she repeats skeptically. She opens her mouth again to ask me more questions but chooses against it. She shakes her head and moves out of sight. She comes back with a bottle of water and a piece of bread. "Here. Found the bread yesterday while you were gone. The water I got from an officer."

"What, you finally picked someone's pocket?" I say weakly, trying to lighten the mood. I try sitting up but it sends another wave of pain through me. I wince and Tess motions me to lie back down. I let my arms stretch out down the side of my body and Tess feeds me scraps of bread and sips of water. When I finish, I close my eyes again and start drifting off to sleep.

I remember why I went to Arcadia yesterday. Before we left Lake for the winter, I went to visit my family for the last time. The floorboards are loose with small holes here and there; nothing too bad to patch. I managed to sneak in beneath them and watched them from there. Nothing was changed- everything was the same as it always was. Mom was in the kitchen at that time and John was helping Eden with something he was making. Except, he needed batteries to make it work and there was no way they could spare any Notes to buy him some lousy batteries for something that might not even work.

When we came back a week earlier, I snuck out and checked on them again. Eden was goddy serious about the batteries and John and Mom were trying to talk him out of it. I knew I had to include those in my next delivery to them so I went to Arcadia to loot some.

I managed to do that, all right. And managed to get hit on the head by the store owner in the end. I don't think he'd report me. There wouldn't be a lot for the police to track me by. Tess doesn't know this but I used some of the Notes in our stash to buy some chalk to make my face, arms, and legs completely white. I had an old T-shirt tied around my mouth and nose. My hair was tucked in an old cap I found and threw out on my way back. It wasn't my cleanest theft but at least I got what I wanted and got away with it.

Night's fallen when I wake up again. Tess is asleep beside me, arms wrapped around her body. It's early spring but Lake's winters last longer than other sectors. Slowly, I sit up without much trouble and toss my jacket over here. I'm tempted to crawl to the window and see what's happening down there but don't. I watch Tess sleep instead.

She wakes up suddenly. She sits up, blinking rapidly, noticing me fiddling with my knife. It was the cheapest one on the black market- not the best, but sturdy. Good for cutting food but not good enough for accurate slicing. I notice her looking at me and put my knife away. "Awake?" I ask.

"For now. Thought I shouldn't let you wander off and get hurt again," she says with a small smile. "I should test your memory. Concussions can sort of twist things up there. How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

"Where were you born?"

"Lake." Good thing she's asking me questions I have answers to.

"How did we meet?"

"We met in Nima. I patched up your injuries and you started following me. Then you stuck around."

"Do you remember your name?"

"My name? Yeah. It's-" I cut myself off before I could answer truthfully. _Daniel Altan Wing._ He's dead, supposedly. I'm not Daniel. Not anymore.

She looks dejected. "I thought that'd work."

"You really want to know my name, kid? You can just give me one," I point out. I tried giving myself names in the past but none of them sounded right. "Yeah, if you had a choice, what'd you call me?"

For a long while, she thinks about it. "Thief," she answers.

"That's not a name. 'Hey, Thief, pass the bread'. Those trots would take both of us down if you ever say that out loud."

"Then, I won't," she says simply. I still don't think she's serious and she smiles. "I'm kidding. I don't know what to call you. Whatever. Water. Cheese. Note. Night. Day. Elector."

She goes on and on, listing words she knows. I know she isn't taking the question seriously anymore and turn to glance out the window from the corner of my eye. I see lights in some of the houses but I can't tell if my family's light was on at this distance. Nighttime made things harder for people to see but daytime meant you were completely vulnerable if you weren't careful. There's no balance. It's just a cycle of light and dark. A cycle of the unknown. A cycle that can let you make things right.

She stops talking and fixes the jacket over her shoulders. An object falls out from the pocket and rolls a few inches from of her. I recognize it as the battery. She reaches for it and examines it. I can tell she doesn't know what it is and she holds it up for me. "Is _this_ what you got yesterday?"

I try nodding but my head protests, sending a fresh wave of pain through me. "Yeah," I say through gritted teeth. "I'll drop it off for them myself."

"Not tonight. Or tomorrow. Wait until you're better, yeah?" she says. I let out a sigh to agree. She urges me to go back to sleep and she lies back down beside me. I think I fall asleep before she does.

* * *

A week later, I'm on my feet again and walking around Lake, testing to see if all my limbs are working and if my head is really okay. Tess barely got any sleep while I was recovering so I left her with some food I traded Notes for and water. I left her my jacket too since rain's planning to hit hard and it always bring cold wind with it.

As always, my hair is tucked in my cap, my shirt hidden beneath a sweater I found in the trash bins of Ruby sector. I still have my boots and pants were pants without holes or rips in them. I keep my head low, not making eye contact with the officers patrolling the area, but still apologizing every once in a while when I don't notice someone up ahead and bump into them. I help pick up a woman's basket of vegetables and catch a wad of paper in the air when it flies at me. A kid runs up to me to apologize and get the ball back. I smile and hand it to him, recognizing him as the brother of someone I knew. We took our Trial together and he never came back.

I reach the end of this row of the market and raise my head to figure out where to go to next. I hadn't gone to my family yet- I plan on doing that tonight. I scan the area for officers and see none. Instead, I see someone else, someone familiar. The distance between us is a couple feet- ten, at most. I was so close to him but I know I can't go to him. I want to shout his name and run to him and cause a commotion but I can't. It'd get the officers' attention for sure.

John. He stands at a vendor, picking out something. From where I am, it looks like a bunch of wires and screws and buttons. Then he holds an object up and examines it. A battery. The exact same as the one I got a week earlier.

My heart sinks a bit. I wanted to be the one to deliver something Eden's been wanting for so long but if John is out buying them, that must mean they have a little bit of extra spending money, which is good. If they save enough they can buy good stuff for themselves. I hope the Notes I slipped them last time helped.

I hear the officers' voices behind me. They're a long distance away but I duck into the crowd and slither in between two stalls to get behind them. I crouch, watching the pair shoulder their way through the crowd roughly, bumping shoulders and jostling others. They shout at them to get out of their way. They shrink back reluctantly.

A building blocks my view of them and of John. I stand and examine the building, noticing its exterior was worn from misuse. There are plenty of cracks and dents to make good footholds of them. I look around to make sure no one is watching me and jump, slipping my foot into a low crack. I hoist myself up to the roof in no time, I keep low and watch what happens.

"Hey." The officers approach the stall John is at. The shorter one shoves him to the side and he stumbles, falling to the ground. I push down a surge of anger, resisting from reaching for my slingshot and shooting rocks at them. I tell myself to wait and watch.

The taller officer asks the vendor, "My radio's busted. You got any batteries for this?" he shoves the device at him. The vendor is an elderly man with more white hair than blond. He accepts the device and examines it. Shakily, he puts it back on the table and rummages through his box for a few minutes. He takes out two batteries and hands them to the officer.

"Took you long enough," the officer grumbles. He replaces them, putting the old ones on the table. He clips the device back on to his belt and starts walking away. I'm about to turn away as well when another voice is raised.

"You can't take them without paying," a man yells. He's tall, probably the same age as Mom. He has long hair like the rest of us, tied into a tail. He wears overalls and a greasy shirt. He's barefoot, skin tanned from being in the sun for too long. John turns his head at me and tries to shake his head. The man ignores him. "You want something, you pay for it."

The officers immediately round on him. "What makes you think you can talk to us like that?" the tall one shouts. He has a knife out, ready to strike. The shorter one tries stopping him- he's obviously greener than the rest of them- but the tall one lunges forward. The man braces for him.

"Stop!" John intercepts him. It's not much, just a light shove, but it's enough to make the officer stagger to a halt. He turns and glares at John. I don't like the way he looks. I reach for my slingshot and fit a rock in the rubber band. I aim it on the officer. He raises his arm to strike John and my brother raises his arms to defend himself. I fire.

The rock hits the officer on the head. It's impactful enough to make him drop his arms to clutch the spot that hit him. His partner opens his mouth in surprise and I hit him as well for good measure. Then I reach into my pocket and take out the dust bomb I made while I was down. I toss it. Then I jump over the ledge of the building, land on my feet, and roll with the impact. I grab John's hand and start running.

"Hey, what-" he cuts himself off. I don't know why he didn't question me, just kept running with me. I lead him around the market and toward the lake. Tess and I have a little hiding spot we go to sometimes, underneath a pier, hiding under the shadows so no one would see us. It's as safe as it'll ever be for us.

We collapse onto the sand, breathing hard. John looks at me but I don't look at him, my head facing the other direction. He doesn't say anything for a while. When he does, his words are quiet. "Why did you save me back there?"

There is no way for me to get out of this. I let out a breath and take my cap off. Hair tumbles down from its hiding spot and flows past my shoulders. I turn to look at him. John takes in a sharp breath, his expression turning into a mixture of surprise and relief. "Daniel," he whispers. "I knew it. I knew you were still alive."

We embrace, slap each other on the back. A huge grin is plastered on my face, mirroring his. "You can never get rid of me that easily," I say.

He shakes his head. "I wouldn't ever want to get rid of you. That day…your Trial…you never came back. The officers told us you were sent to a labor camp and that we'd never see you again…Mom and Eden couldn't stop crying for the longest time. I knew…I knew we'd see you again."

"It's…a long story. But I escaped. I'm here now."

"Yes…you should come home," he urges. "Mom and Eden…they'll be so happy to see you again. They-"

I shake my head this time. It hurts so much to say it but I have to, for their sake. "I can't. If those trots find out I'm still alive then anything can happen. Prison. Death. Going back to those goddy labor camps. I can't risk it."

"But…you just risked it today. You…you came to me. Saved me, even. You could've just let me take that officer's blow, and-"

"You're no good to anyone when you're injured, let alone dead. Mom and Eden need you, John. Don't be so stupid. I had to save you because…" my voice falters for a moment. "You're my brother."

For a moment, John looks at me, smiling sadly. "And you're mine. And it hurts to see you like this, living in the streets when you can come home any time you want."

"I'm fine with it. I've been doing this for three years, looking for food and shelter. It's something I'm good at."

"True," he agrees grudgingly. "Out of the three of us, you were always fighting something, or someone. You're smarter out here than you were in school. I'm sure you can survive." He pauses before adding, "I _know_ you can survive."

We sit in silence for a while. I wish I could be with him forever but I know he's itching to go back home and I have to check on Tess. The first raindrops start to fall. I turn to him. "Don't tell Mom and Eden about me," I say quietly. "Keep me a secret. Okay? I'll...I'll still come by to drop off things I find once in a while. Whatever you need, just tell me and I'll get it for you."

"I knew you were the one who dropped off that package during the winter," John murmurs. "Mom bought a new coat for Eden with that money. Thank you."

I nod and reach into my pocket to hand him the batteries. His eyes widen a bit when he recognizes what it is. "Here. I got these for Eden. Tell him to stop fussing over them."

"I will." He takes them and slips them in his pocket. He lets out a breath. "Daniel, I'm not going to ask you how you got these or the stuff you dropped off or the Notes. I know you're not sorry for anything you do and…I guess it can't be avoided. Just be careful, all right? You be the soldier, and I'll be the worker. We'll do this together."

We embrace again. "I'll stop by tonight and see how things are going," I whisper into his ear.

"I'll look forward to it," he whispers back. He pulls away and I tuck my hair into my hat. We slip out from under the pier and start walking back. For him, towards home and Mom and Eden, and for me, towards Tess and our pathetic stash of food and Notes.

 _You be the soldier and I'll be the worker._ I can't help but think this means more than what John thinks he means. I have all these skills and I only use them to steal enough for me and Tess and for my family. I think it's about time for the Republic to know what I'm capable of.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Here's the second shot of the three. Thank you so much for the kind reviews! Feel free to R/R this time around as well. Any feedback is appreciated! Thanks for reading!

 **Disclaimer:** _Legend_ belongs to Marie Lu. I'm just a huge fan of Day and love him to bits.


	3. Identity

It's been a month since John found out I was still alive. A month of not doing much other than the usual- waking up, scavenging for food (mostly stealing, sometimes trading), pickpocketing Notes and stuff from gullible vendors, and wandering around Lake with Tess. I go to my family once a week to see if they're okay or if John has a request for me. I asked him the first time I went to him not to find me because it could end up being risky and it'd definitely make our mother and Eden suspicious. He doesn't ask for much- clothes, mostly, for Mom, sometimes parts or tools for Eden when he gets really creative. He never asks anything for himself. I have a feeling the extra Notes I slip to him he saves up to buy a real treat for them once he gets enough. So long they're happy, I'm happy.

I also told Tess what I wanted to do a month ago. She's been bothering me about it either since.

"Planning to do anything heroic today?" she asks when I wake up one day. It's close to summer now, the rain easing off a bit and the heat coming in bit by bit. I catch the roll of bread she tosses at me and take a bite of it. It's plain but soft. Fresh.

"Easy there, cousin. I'm still deciding what to do." It's true, in some way. I never forgot what John said and it comes back to haunt me whenever I'm idling. _You be the soldier and I'll be the worker._ Unlike him, I have nothing holding me back. I have nothing at stake. My family doesn't know about me and Tess wouldn't give me up to the police without giving herself up. It's the perfect time to do something big and hit the Republic where it hurts.

Besides, all of us in the poor sectors know how cracked the system is. Only the rich trots can't see that.

I pull out our stash of Notes and calculate what I can buy at the black market with them. Guns are always a good choice but they can be traced back to you so easily and it's a risk I can't take. Maybe a bomb or two. If I got those, we'd still have enough for food, unless I use the money for a disguise. I can't go out looking like myself. Anyone would be able to point me out. I stare at the Notes thoughtfully and drum my fingers against my good knee. Tess watches me.

"If they catch you," she says slowly, "they'll ask you for your name."

"They won't catch me. I know they won't and if they don't, they'll never know who did it." I take a careful amount from the stash and stuff them deep in the pocket of my pants. I stand up. "I'll be back tonight. Don't try to follow me, yeah? Just stay here and wait for me."

Tess reached for my arm. I turn to look at her. "You're really going to do it," she says softly. It isn't a question.

"Don't worry. I'll come back alive." I try to sound light but it does nothing to crack the tension on her face. I ruffle her hair a bit. "How about this- when I do come back, I'll tell you the name you can call me."

Her eyes light up a bit. "Really?"

"Sure." It's been long enough since I've been without a name. Only John ever calls me Daniel and while it sounds good when he says it, it won't feel natural coming from anyone else. Having nothing better to do isn't the only reason why I'm doing this- it's because I don't want to be nobody anymore. I'm ready to be somebody.

Somebody who can change this goddy system for good.

* * *

My father used to dream a lot. He wanted to do this, do that, hoped for John and me to be famous, hoped one day he would find a better job and get us a better home than the one we have in Lake. He cleaned up after the soldiers on the warfront and he was usually gone for weeks to months at a time. Whenever he does come back, he doesn't tell us much about what he does or sees. I asked him about it one time and he said it didn't want us to know. "It's a dangerous world out there," he told me once. "You should stay close to home if you can. Do good here. There's no light at the warfront and I want both my boys to walk in it. You understand me?"

Both John and I nodded and promised to never go to the warfront unless we had to. I'm breaking that promise by going there on my own free will.

I'm stowed away in a train on its way to deliver supplies to the warfront. That day I went to buy the bombs, the seller asked me what I was going to do with them. Buyers don't have to tell them and I didn't because I didn't know the answer. As I stowed them away safely in a location Tess didn't know, I made up my mind and immediately got ready. I didn't tell Tess where I was going but I was sure she would know where I'd be. John would miss me this week but there was always next week.

I did my own disguise this time and I think I did a good job. I snatched a bottle of half-used red hair dye to color my hair and a pair of cracked goggles in the corner of the train cart I'm in. The clothes I'm wearing are military personnel clothes, stacked and folded neatly in one of the crates I opened. The bombs are strapped onto my belt and hidden beneath my jacket. My knife is hidden in my boot and a spool of rope is in the other.

I also have a bottle of spray paint. Half-used, since I couldn't be bothered to waste Notes on a full bottle for something so little.

I close my eyes and listen to the train move. The capital of the Republic is Denver and that's where the warfront is. I remember my dad describing it once. He said it was as if it was always night because of the smoke and smog. There's barely any light. He used to say light meant goodness and darkness meant the opposite. The war between the Republic and Colonies brings nothing but badness. He wanted the fighting to stop but there is no way to stop. I hope to slow it down just a bit by what I plan to do tonight.

The train comes to a slow halt as it reaches the station. I jump off and run into the shadows before anyone can see me. I did some research down at the black market about the locations of various buildings down here and they were all right- it was easy to see what was what. The military buildings all had the Republic's flag flapping back and forth. Helicopters light the roads from above. Cars are moving in every direction, delivering either dead soldiers or fresh ones. I try to look for the building I'm looking for through the mess and manage to locate it. The Department of Intra-Defense is my target. I start running, keeping low and to the shadows.

My plan is simple. Vandalize the building. Destroy two airships. Don't get caught and leave. I've been through worse- much worse. This is going to easy. I keep up the positive momentum while I can because I have to live. I have to protect Tess and my family.

I climb the fence surrounding the building and crouch behind an airship. There are two in front of the building, ready for take-off at any time. I take a bomb from my belt and carefully make my way to the back of the ship. I attach it to the engine and press the button. The timer starts counting down from five minutes. The second bomb will detonate at the same time. I plan on using the explosion as a cover for my escape so that means I have five minutes to do what I have to.

I attach the second bomb to the other ship's engine and approach the building, avoiding security cameras on the way. I look up, scanning for the window to the main control room. Someone told me it was on the top floor of the eight-story building. It's easy to break into since it has the most windows facing the warfront. I take a few steps backwards and take a breath. I run and leap onto the wall, gripping it with my hands, using my feet to find footholds in the slight cracks in the wall. I scale it quickly, using my body to swing into the glass. It shatters from the force and I tuck my head in as I roll inside. I shake glass shards off of my clothes and start running. The security alarm rings right away. I have three minutes until they have the building surrounded. Four until they come up here and try to catch me.

I do whatever I can- shove my knife in control panels, kick machines until they start breaking or until a dent forms, anything that will do damage. I count the seconds down. Once two minutes pass and the place looks mostly trashed, I take the spool of rope out from my boot and tie it around the door knob to a maintenance closet. I start descending, using the sleeve of my shirt to hold onto the rope. I forgot all about gloves. I'll have to remember to grab a pair next time.

Soldiers and trucks are approaching the building when I reach the ground. One minute remains until the bombs go off. I take in another breath and dash toward the airships. I'm fast- I'm at the fence before anyone can reach me. I don't try to climb the fence just yet. I watch the soldiers approach, raise their guns, and prepare to shoot.

It never happens. The bombs detonate, rocking the ground, creating smoke and fire. I take the spray paint bottle and shake it quickly. I was going to do this inside the building but didn't have enough time. I spray my name on the ground and toss the bottle to the fire to add to it.

Then I turn to climb the fence and run.

* * *

A week has passed since then. I find myself sitting on the windowsill of our hideout, watching the ads roll across the JumboTrons in the distance. They're large and flashy, visible to me from this distance. I'm in my usual clothes again, the dye washed out of my hair, the goggles and clothes thrown away and left in a trash bin for someone else to wear. The only thing I kept from that is my knife and my name, the name Tess now calls me by.

She sits down beside me and looks in the direction I'm looking at. She can't read what the ads say very clearly and she squints with the effort. She gives up after a while and looks at me instead. "Waiting for something to pop up?" she asks.

I shrug, not wanting to admit that I am. I saw it once before when I wasn't really paying attention. I was walking through the streets with my head low and ears open to the usual chatter around me. Then everyone falls silent for a split second and starts whispering. I looked up to see what was happening and saw the ad.

 _On April 24, at 0129 hours a vandal known as "Day" vandalized the Department of Infra-Defense and set fire to two engines to two warfront airships._

 _10,000 Notes reward for any information._

Then a hazy image of my face appeared on screen. I had to bow my head again so no one could catch the smirk on my face. I knew I wouldn't be caught. I was right.

Something lands on my lap, startling me. It's a bag full of stuff to give to John. I didn't go last week and now I have to go this week. "John's waiting for you," Tess reminds me. I haven't introduced her to him yet but I should, especially if I'm going to continue with what I'm doing.

I stand and take the bag with me. "I'll be back."

"Make sure you are." Tess pauses for a moment. She adds, almost quietly, "Day."

The sky is dark, making my neighborhood almost indistinguishable in the darkness. I slung the bag over my shoulder and squeeze beneath the space in between the ground and the floorboards of my face. I hear Eden and Mom talking quietly. I don't hear John but I can tell he's there because the silence is heavier than usual. I whistle my signal to him, three low sounds that could be mistaken as a cricket. He hears it. The floorboards creak from his weight as he comes out to tell Mom where he's going. I crawl out from my hiding place and wait for him in the dark.

He crouches beside me. "You didn't come last week. I thought something had happened to you."

"Sorry. I just…had something else to do," I mumble. He hears the hesitation in my voice and immediately links it to the incident from last week.

"Wait. That was _you_?" his whisper is incredulous. "You're the one who did that? Is that why…?"

"Yeah. It is. Look, I'm sorry, but I'm here now, and this-"

"Daniel, I don't care about that stuff, I care about _you_." John grips my shoulders tightly. "If they find you they'll kill you. If they ever hurt you, I won't be able to forgive myself. I-"

"I won't let myself get caught," I say softly. "I'm not doing this just for you or me. I'm doing this for everyone. It's about time the Republic gets a taste of their own goddy medicine." A small, sad smile cracks John's tense expression and I smile back, just slightly.

"I've never seen this side of you," he says, "but I always knew you had it. You've got to live, I guess, while your blood is boiling. That's what Dad always said, right?"

I nod. I hand him the bag and he takes it, peering inside it briefly. He closes it and squeezes my shoulder again. "One more question. Why did you pick 'Day'? Is it something Dad used to say?"

I nod again. John pulls me in for a hug and I let him. He stands up and says good-bye and good night, heading back home. I stand and walk in the opposite direction toward Tess.

He used to say every twenty-four hours is a chance for you to do something good. Time is irredeemable so you have to do everything in the moment. You have to take things one day at a time.

It wasn't the first thing that came to my mind last week when I was writing my name on the ground. I always remembered what he used to say because what he says make sense. I want to live up to his expectations, and to my mom's, and to my brothers'. I want to be someone who can make a change, one day at a time.

My name is Daniel Altan Wing to my family but to everyone else, my name is Day.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** All finished now! Thank you for the reviews and for sticking with the story! Leave a review about your thoughts- anything is appreciated!

 **Disclaimer:** _Legend_ belongs to Marie Lu. I own nothing but my words.


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